Bobby Nichols

For other people named Robert Nichols, see Robert Nichols (disambiguation).

Robert Herman Nichols (born April 14, 1936) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1964.

Bobby Nichols
Personal information
Full name	Robert Herman Nichols
Born	(1936-04-14) April 14, 1936 (age 89) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Sporting nationality	United States
Career
College	Texas A&M University
Turned professional	1960
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	12
PGA Tour Champions	1
Other	2
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	2nd: 1967
PGA Championship	Won: 1964
U.S. Open	T3: 1962
The Open Championship	DNP

Early years

Born in April 1936 and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Nichols attended St. Xavier High School. While in high school, Nichols and several other youths were involved in an automobile accident resulting from a 100 mph (160 km/h) joy ride. He suffered serious injuries including a broken pelvis, concussion, back and internal injuries, and was hospitalized 96 days. His legs were also paralyzed for about two weeks, but he was able to regain full use of his legs after intensive physical therapy. Nichols later played on the Aggies golf team at the Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas (later renamed Texas A&M University) in the Southwest Conference.

Pro career

Nichols began playing on the PGA Tour in 1960 and recorded 12 victories, one of which, the PGA National Team Championship, was not fully recognized until 2012.^[1] He was a member of the Ryder Cup team in 1967, and his best year on tour was 1974 when he won twice, earned $124,747 and finished 14th on the money list. Nichols, Jerry Heard, and Lee Trevino were struck by lightning at the Western Open on Friday, June 27, 1975.^[2] All three men came back to play professional golf. Unfortunately Nichols – who was 39 at the time and still playing consistently well – as the PGA Tour's Media Guide noted several years later "has not played with the same effectiveness since" [meaning after the strike]. His results on tour after mid-1975 until he joined what was then called the Senior Tour in 1986 bear that out. While Trevino won many more times on the PGA Tour after being hit by lightning (including a major championship) and Heard also won again on tour in 1978, Nichols never did. The closest he came to another PGA Tour win was a team event played in 1976 with Gay Brewer, the 1976 Walt Disney World National Team Championship. The team of Nichols and Brewer lost in a playoff to the team of Woody Blackburn and Billy Kratzert.

He has had 12 holes-in-one in his professional career.^[3]

The 1964 PGA Championship was played at the Columbus Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Nichols won with a 271 total, three shots ahead of runners-up Arnold Palmer and defending champion Jack Nicklaus, playing in his hometown.^[4][5][6] This was a record low score for the PGA Championship and it stood for 30 years, until broken by Nick Price's 269 in 1994.^[7] Nichols was the first wire-to-wire winner since the PGA Championship switched format from match play to stroke play in 1958.^[8] He came close to winning a second major at the Masters in 1967, finishing second to his lifelong friend, Gay Brewer.

After turning 50 in 1986, Nichols played on the Senior PGA Tour, now the Champions Tour. He had numerous top-10 finishes but only one victory – the Southwestern Bell Classic in 1989, when he defeated Orville Moody on the third hole of a playoff.

Bobby Nichols Golf Course is a 9-hole municipal course that is part of Waverly Park in Louisville, southwest of downtown. (38.126°N 85.838°W / 38.126; -85.838) The back tees are set at 6,970 yards (6,370 m) with a rating of 72.0 and a slope of 130.^[9][10]

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (12)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (11)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 19, 1962	St. Petersburg Open Invitational	−16 (71-67-70-64=272)	2 strokes	Frank Boynton
2	Apr 23, 1962	Houston Classic	−2 (68-69-71-70=278)	Playoff	Jack Nicklaus, Dan Sikes
3	Sep 15, 1963	Seattle Open Invitational	−16 (66-68-68-70=272)	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd, Stan Leonard
4	Jul 19, 1964	PGA Championship	−9 (64-71-69-67=271)	3 strokes	Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer
5	Aug 30, 1964	Carling World Open	−2 (72-68-66-72=278)	1 stroke	Arnold Palmer
6	Apr 18, 1965	Houston Classic (2)	−11 (67-69-67-70=273)	1 stroke	Bruce Devlin, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
7	Jul 17, 1966	Minnesota Golf Classic	−14 (67-67-66-70=270)	1 stroke	John Schlee
8	Sep 22, 1968	PGA National Team Championship (with George Archer)	−22 (65-66-69-65=265)	2 strokes	Monty Kaser and Rives McBee
9	Aug 30, 1970	Dow Jones Open Invitational	−12 (68-70-69-69=276)	1 stroke	Labron Harris Jr.
10	Aug 5, 1973	Westchester Classic	−16 (70-67-70-65=272)	Playoff	Bob Murphy
11	Jan 27, 1974	Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational	−13 (69-69-68-69=275)	1 stroke	Rod Curl, Gene Littler
12	Jul 28, 1974	Canadian Open	−10 (67-67-68-68=270)	4 strokes	John Schlee, Larry Ziegler

PGA Tour playoff record (2–3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1961	Ontario Open	George Bayer, Eric Monti	Monti won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1962	Houston Classic	Jack Nicklaus, Dan Sikes	Won with eagle on first extra hole after 18 hole playoff; Nichols: +1 (71), Sikes: +1 (71), Nicklaus: +6 (76)
3	1973	Westchester Classic	Bob Murphy	Won with birdie on second extra hole
4	1975	Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational	Raymond Floyd, J. C. Snead	Snead won with birdie on fourth extra hole Nichols eliminated by par on first hole
5	1976	Walt Disney World National Team Championship (with Gay Brewer)	Woody Blackburn and Billy Kratzert	Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	May 28, 1989	Southwestern Bell Classic	−7 (69-69-71=209)	Playoff	Orville Moody

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1988	Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am	Bob Charles, Don Massengale, Orville Moody	Moody won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1989	Southwestern Bell Classic	Orville Moody	Won with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (2)

• 1986 Showdown Classic (with Curt Byrum)
• 2007 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Butch Baird)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1964	PGA Championship	1 shot lead	−9 (64-71-69-67=271)	3 strokes	Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer

Results timeline

Tournament	1958	1959
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	T52
PGA Championship

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament				T24	T25	T35	T22	2	T30	T29
U.S. Open			T3	T14	T14	CUT	7	T23	4	T31
PGA Championship			6	T23	1	T54	CUT	T14	T57	T44

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament			T31	T24	T7	T4	CUT
U.S. Open	T46	T9	T11	T20	T49	CUT	CUT		52	T25
PGA Championship	T26	T46	T62	T51	T39	T33	CUT	T51	T19	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT	T53	CUT	CUT
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	T34	T36	CUT	T40

Note: Nichols never played in The Open Championship.

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	1	0	2	3	7	12	11
U.S. Open	0	0	1	2	4	10	22	16
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
PGA Championship	1	0	0	1	2	5	24	18
Totals	1	1	1	5	9	22	58	45

• Most consecutive cuts made – 23 (1967 Masters – 1975 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1962 U.S. Open – 1962 PGA)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1967 (winners)

See also

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers